Africa-Press – Namibia.
When the Swapo Manifesto Implementation Plan (SMIP) was released in February 2025, it arrived with a sense of promise.
For the first time in the ruling party’s history, there was not just a manifesto, but a roadmap detailing how they intended to deliver on their pledges.
It was party President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s bold statement of intent “to shift from words to action, and from planning to implementation”.
However, local think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in a recent report poked holes in the implementation plan.
They said it missed the mark, as it fails to address what is really holding back economic growth and job-creation.
The IPPR argued that the SMIP may be less of a roadmap, and more a detour from the real path to prosperity.
“The emphasis President Nandi-Ndaitwah places on the SMIP is a welcome innovation. However, whether these actions are desirable and realistic remains an open question”, the IPPR report stated.
Disconnect
They emphasise that the plan suffers from a lack of thorough research, and appears disconnected from Namibia’s economic realities.
Many of the SMIP’s initiatives, the report warned, are grounded more in political aspiration than in economic feasibility.
“While it sounds good to many voters and politicians, talk about generalities does not seem to have made progress to talk about specifics. Without a sound economic basis, this and many other proposals are likely to end up in frustration and wasted public resources. Air Namibia was a white elephant, which cost the taxpayer billions over decades, money which could have gone to better uses.
Now, the government is considering spending N$3 billion to resurrect something that the country does not need, and does not create growth or jobs,” the report continued.
Housing
One of the plan’s flagship goals outlined in SMIP is a strategy to address Namibia’s chronic housing and sanitation crisis.
By 2029, the SMIP promises 50 000 affordable houses, formalising and servicing half of the country’s informal settlements, and constructing 1 000 sanitation facilities with the combined price cost of over N$22 billion.
However, the IPPR argues that achieving this will depend on a public service system already stretched to its limits.
They added that with little detail on how capacity will be strengthened, the plan risks collapsing under its own weight.
Nonetheless, the IPPR has welcomed the proposed establishment of a project management office within the presidency to drive and monitor implementation.
Transparency
Additionally, the IPPR raises concerns about transparency.
Their key question is whether these plans are genuinely new, or simply old projects repackaged for political effect.
The researchers argue that distinction matters not just for honesty’s sake, but for budgeting.
“The SMIP outlines N$85.7 billion in commitments, but it’s unclear whether this funding is new or already accounted for in the current Medium-Term Expenditure Framework,” the report stated.
The IPPR said Namibia’s economic engine, the private sector, barely features, stating that key legislation such as the Namibia National Equitable Economic Empowerment Bill and the long-awaited draft Minerals Act, go unmentioned.
“Virtually, no space is devoted to improving Namibia’s business and investment environment. Private sector investment vastly outweighs public sector investment. It is the private sector which normally powers growth and employment-creation. Apart from the Investment Promotion and Facilitation Bill 2021 (which has the potential to be hugely damaging to the cause of private sector investment), this major issue is not addressed,” the IPPR said.
Through the report, they continue to argue that “the Namibian National Equitable Economic Empowerment Bill and the draft Minerals Act receive no mentions at all. Both have the potential to hinder private sector investment. No explicit mention is made of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB). No commitments are made on corporate taxation; no revisions to damaging legislation or regulations which hold back private investments are proposed. This has significant implications for private sector growth and employment-creation”.
Without reforms to streamline regulations, fix tax inefficiencies and restore investor confidence, economic growth will remain stunted, no matter how many public projects are promised.
The IPPR then hit hard on the detachment of public enterprises from the finance ministry.
They said “public enterprises’ reform appears now to be significantly downplayed. In the view of many analysts, getting Namibia’s public enterprises ‘match-fit’ for the role they are expected to play in oil and gas, electricity and water supply, green hydrogen, transport and other sectors should be a top priority”.
“The change in approach is reflected by the downgrading of the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises to plain old Ministry of Finance. The term public enterprise (which is hardly used) is replaced by the old term, State-owned enterprise (SOE).
The report suggested that this could have far-reaching consequences, especially as Namibia moves towards becoming a player in global energy transition.
The researchers said the plan’s heavy reliance on State-led projects has likewise triggered alarm bells about corruption.
They warned of the risk that politically-connected individuals could hijack these initiatives for personal gain, deepening inequality rather than solving it.
“Firm management will be required to ensure this does not simply become a recipe for massive corruption. The government’s track record on this issue is poor – to say the least. A new and untested minister of finance does not offer hope of a hardline stance against graft and mismanagement,” the report added.
Green hydrogen
In another unexpected shift, the IPPR stated that the once-hyped green hydrogen sector, heralded by late president Hage Geingob as the future of Namibia’s economy, has been sidelined.
The SMIP references it only twice.
“Under (late) president Geingob, it was green hydrogen that was going to drive the economy forward, generating growth and jobs in the process. The sector receives just two very limited mentions in the SMIP. Why the sudden shift in priority?” the think tank querried.
Oil and gas, which the IPPR said are arguably the most promising sectors for short-to-medium-term growth, are wrapped in uncertainty.
The SMIP proposes a 30% free carry requirement for government participation in oil and gas ventures.
However, the IPPR cautioned that this could delay projects, as companies and the State wrangle over terms, potentially scaring off investors.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
